Crowds Care for Cancer Challenge: Supporting Survivors

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Medable, Together App

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Together is a mobile and web application to enable Cancer Survivors to optimize and manage health over a lifetime. Our goal is to create a life companion for Survivors by providing a platform for patient-centered care, data accessibility and sharing, loaded with a toolkit for health management and monitoring. We integrate the latest tech has to offer from wearable body sensor data to Blue Button to deliver a game-changing solution for Survivors.

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Background

The number of cancer survivors in the United States is currently estimated at 14 million and is expected to increase significantly with the aging of the United States population. Cancer survivors may experience a host of long-term and late effects that require coordinated follow-up care after completion of primary treatment for cancer. Despite significant progress in cancer treatment, the complex, often fragmented state of end-of-treatment care may lead to harmful breakdowns in patient-provider communication and follow-up care for cancer survivors. Enabling better communication, exchange of data, and care coordination can help improve end-of-treatment consultations and care planning for cancer survivors. Innovative new approaches are needed to assist patients and their support networks use information from their providers and care plans to facilitate cancer follow-up care that is comprehensive, coordinated, and of high-quality.

Activating patient engagement in care has been robustly associated with improved preventive health behaviors, treatment adherence, and fewer problems with care coordination. Patient activation may be achieved by improving patient knowledge, skills, and confidence in their ability to manage their health and navigate the healthcare system. For example, enabling better communication, exchange of data, and care coordination during the transition from specialty to primary care at the end of treatment, including the development of a customized survivorship care plan may help improve cancer survivor outcomes.

Preliminary research suggests survivorship care planning may be related to improved compliance with recommended medical surveillance, reductions in duplicative health care procedures, and improvements in patient confidence about and preparedness for follow-up care. The Institute of Medicine (IOM) recommended content for survivorship care plans includes the following elements: patient’s cancer specific information (e.g., diagnosis, stage, pathology, etc.), treatment history and potential consequences; recommendations for surveillance, prevention and health maintenance; psychosocial factors and community resources to address psychosocial issues; and detailed plans for follow-up care and coordination. At this point, no evidence-based care plan standard exists, but several templates are in use. These include template development by the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), LIVESTRONG, and the Journey Forward care plan, generated via collaboration among leadership, research, and service entities. Further evaluation is necessary to determine the efficacy, usability, and potential for integration of survivorship care plans with existing electronic platforms for care including electronic and personal health records (EMR/PHR), mobile and web-based applications. NCI and ONC are interested in new innovations that can assist patients and their support networks in developing new ways of planning and facilitating the delivery of coordinated, high-quality, and patient-centered cancer follow-up care.

Description

To address the needs of cancer survivors, the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) is launching the Crowds Care for Cancer: Supporting Survivors Challenge in conjunction with the National Cancer Institute (NCI) as part of the Investing in Innovation (i2) program. This challenge aims to incentivize the development of innovative information management tools and applications that help survivors manage their transition from specialty to primary care, for example, by facilitating activities such as coordinating recommendations, appointments, and resources from patient support networks and healthcare providers involved in their care. Submissions should help survivors use information from their providers and survivorship care plans to improve communication and coordination within their care networks that can help facilitate the planning and delivery of coordinated, high-quality, and patient-centered follow-up care. These networks often include families, friends, and members of their primary and specialty care teams. The ultimate goal of this challenge is to develop applications that will better meet the needs of cancer survivors. Finalists from Phase I will garner seed funding and publicity from ONC and NCI to assist qualified entrants in developing applications ready for solicitation of additional development resources.

As part of this goal, submissions could improve transitional and follow-up care after cancer treatment by optimizing patient-provider communication and customizing management of survivor care. Innovations could also address follow-up care needs such as medication tracking and adherence, health promotion, appointment and symptom tracking. Communication across survivor care networks will also be improved by utilizing key sources of health data and interoperability standards such as Blue Button+ (bluebuttonplus.org). Entries will also be assessed on their ability to adapt to the evolving care needs of survivors, including the potential for integration with electronic care platforms and between members of their care networks (e.g., family, friends, and healthcare providers).

The challenge will consist of two phases. In the first phase, entrants will submit wireframes and supporting documentation detailing the proposed functionality of their tool or application addressing the goals of the challenge. At the end of Phase I eligible entries will be judged according to the challenge criteria, with up to three entrants being awarded $5,000 each and receiving additional support to optimize their application proposal for promotion on a crowdfunding portal as they transition to Phase II. The second phase requires the Phase I finalists to post relevant details of their tool or application on a crowdfunding portal for public feedback and support in developing the application. At the end of Phase II the finalists will submit a functioning application to be judged for the $25,000 grand prize.

Submission Requirements

Phase I Submissions will include:

Wireframes of the proposed application. - NOTE: While Phase I reviews will be based on the slide deck proposal, entrants that have begun coding their applications may use screenshots in addition to or in lieu of wireframes.

Supporting documentation detailing the proposed functionality of their tool or application addressing the goals of the challenge.

In order for an entry to be eligible to win this Challenge, it must meet the following requirements:

General – Entrants must provide continuous access to the application to judges during the evaluation period, a detailed description of the application, instructions on how to install and operate the application, and system requirements required to run the application (collectively, “Submission”).

Acceptable platforms – The tool must be designed for use with any personal computing platform widely available to the average consumer.

No HHS, ONC, NIH, or NCI logos – The application must not use HHS’, ONC’s, or NCI’s logos or official seals in the Submission, and must not claim endorsement.

Section 508 Compliance – Entrants must acknowledge that they understand that, as a pre-requisite to any subsequent acquisition by FAR contract or other method, they may be required to make their proposed solution compliant with Section 508 accessibility and usability requirements at their own expense. Any electronic information technology that is ultimately obtained by HHS for its use, development, or maintenance must meet Section 508 accessibility and usability standards. Past experience has demonstrated that it can be costly for solution-providers to “retrofit” solutions if remediation is later needed. The HHS Section 508 Evaluation Product Assessment Template, available at http://www.hhs.gov/web/508/contracting/technology/vendors.html, provides a useful roadmap for developers to review. It is a simple, web-based checklist utilized by HHS officials to allow vendors to document how their products do or do not meet the various Section 508 requirements.

Functionality/Accuracy – A Submission may be disqualified if the application fails to function as expressed in the description provided by the user, or if the application provides inaccurate or incomplete information.

Security – Submissions must be free of malware. Entrant agrees that the ONC may conduct testing on the application to determine whether malware or other security threats may be present. ONC may disqualify the application if, in ONC’s judgment, the application may damage government or others’ equipment or operating environment.

CHALLENGE DESCRIPTION: The Challenge begins at 10:00 AM Eastern Time on Tuesday, April 30, 2013 and ends at 11:59 PM Eastern Time on Monday, July 12, 2013 ("Challenge Period"). The “Crowds Care for Cancer Challenge” is a call for developers, researchers, and other innovators to incentivize the development of innovative information management tools and applications that help cancer survivors manage their transition from specialty to primary care. The teams that submit the applications will win: 1.) First Place - $25,000 and 2.) Phase I Finalists - $5,000 each. Entry into the Challenge does not constitute entry into any other challenge or promotion, including, without limitation, other similar challenges or promotions offered by Sponsor and/or Administrator. By participating in the Challenge, each entrant unconditionally accepts and agrees to comply with and abide by these Official Rules and the decisions of Sponsor, Administrator, and/or the individual advisors, which shall be final and binding in all respects.

ELIGIBILITY: To be eligible to win a prize under this challenge, an individual or entity: (a) Shall have registered to participate in the competition under the rules promulgated by the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology; (b) Shall have complied with all the requirements under this section; (c) In the case of a private entity, shall be incorporated in and maintain a primary place of business in the United States, and in the case of an individual, participating in a group, shall be a citizen or permanent resident of the United States and 18 years old or older as of the time of entry; and (d) May not be a Federal entity or Federal employee acting within the scope of their employment. An individual or entity shall not be deemed ineligible because the individual or entity used Federal facilities or consulted with Federal employees during a competition if the facilities and employees are made available to all individuals and entities participating in the competition on an equitable basis. Employees of Sponsor, Administrator, each of their affiliates, and/or any other individual or entity associated with the development, evaluation, or administration of the Challenge as well as members of such persons' immediate families (spouses, children, siblings, parents), and persons living in the same household as such persons, whether or not related, are not eligible to participate in the Challenge; (e) Federal grantees may not use Federal funds to develop COMPETES Act challenge applications unless consistent with the purpose of their grant award. (f) Federal contractors may not use Federal funds from a contract to develop COMPETES Act challenge applications or to fund efforts in support of a COMPETES Act challenge submission.

An individual or entity shall not be deemed ineligible because the individual or entity used Federal facilities or consulted with Federal employees during a competition if the facilities and employees are made available to all individuals and entities participating in the competition on an equitable basis.

Entrants must agree to assume any and all risks and waive claims against the Federal Government and its related entities, except in the case of willful misconduct, for any injury, death, damage, or loss of property, revenue, or profits, whether direct, indirect, or consequential, arising from my participation in this prize contest, whether the injury, death, damage, or loss arises through negligence or otherwise.

Entrants must also agree to indemnify the Federal Government against third party claims for damages arising from or related to competition activities.

HOW TO ENTER: To enter: (a) The challenge winner will demonstrate the development of innovative information management tools and applications that help survivors manage their transition from specialty to primary care (b) go to the website located at www.health2challenge.org (the "Challenge Website"), complete the Official Registration Form to officially register for the competition; (c) prior to the submission deadline you will receive additional instructions to submit your entry, a video demonstrating the Submission's capabilities and functionality, and an electronic slide presentation describing the submission according to the instructions posted on the Challenge Website. You may only enter as part of a team. Teams must include no less than two (2) people and each team member must be clearly identified on the team's Official Entry Form to be eligible. All participants are required to provide written consent to the rules upon or before submitting an entry. Submissions must be received during the Challenge Period to be eligible. Administrator is the official timekeeper for the Challenge. No substitutions of new versions of Submissions will be accepted under any circumstances once the original Submission is submitted for consideration. In the event of a dispute regarding the identity of the individual or team who actually submitted the entry cannot be resolved to Sponsor's and/or Administrator's satisfaction, the affected entry will be deemed ineligible. Except as otherwise stated in these Official Rules, personal information collected in connection with the Challenge will be used by Sponsor in accordance with Sponsor's privacy policy and by Administrator in accordance with Administrator's privacy policy available on the Website and with any additional consent given by an entrant at the time of entry. All entry information and materials, including any copy of the Submission submitted to Sponsor, become the property of Sponsor and will not be acknowledged or returned. Proof of submission is not considered proof of delivery to or receipt of such entry. Furthermore, Sponsor and Administrator shall have no liability for any Submission that is lost, intercepted, or not received by Sponsor and/or Administrator. Sponsor and Administrator assume no liability or responsibility for any error, omission, interruption, deletion, theft, or destruction or unauthorized access to, or alteration of, Submissions.

REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES/INDEMNIFICATION: By participating in the Challenge, each entrant represents, warrants, and covenants as follows: (a) entrant is the sole author, creator, and owner of the Submission; (b) the Submission is not the subject of any actual or threatened litigation or claim; (c) the Submission does not and will not violate or infringe upon the intellectual property rights, privacy rights, publicity rights, or other legal rights of any third party; (d) the Submission does not and will not contain any harmful computer code (sometimes referred to as "malware," "viruses" or "worms"); and (e) the Submission, and entrants use of the Submission, does not and will not violate any applicable laws or regulations, including, without limitation, applicable export control laws and regulations of the U.S. and other jurisdictions. If the Submission includes any third party works (such as third party content or open source code), entrant must be able to provide, upon Sponsor and/or Administrator's request, all appropriate licenses and releases for such third party works. In the event entrant cannot provide all required licenses and releases, Sponsor reserves the right, in Sponsor's sole discretion, to disqualify the applicable Submission, or seek to secure the licenses and releases for Sponsor's benefit and allow the applicable Submission to remain in the Challenge. Entrants will indemnify, defend, and hold harmless Sponsor and Administrator from and against all third party claims, actions, or proceedings of any kind and from any and all damages, liabilities, costs, and expenses relating to or arising from entrant's Submission or any breach or alleged breach of any of the representations, warranties, and covenants of entrant hereunder. Sponsor and/or Administrator reserves the right to disqualify any Submission that Sponsor and/or Administrator, in its sole discretion, deems to violate these Official Rules.

SUBMISSION LICENSE: Each entrant retains title and full ownership in and to their submission. Entrants expressly reserve all intellectual property rights not expressly granted under the challenge agreement. By participating in the challenge, each entrant hereby irrevocably grants to Sponsor and Administrator a limited, non-exclusive, royalty-free, worldwide license and right to reproduce, publically perform, publically display, and use the Submission to the extent necessary to administer the challenge, and to publically perform and publically display the Submission, including, without limitation, for advertising and promotional purposes relating to the challenge.

PUBLICITY RELEASE: By participating in the Challenge, in addition to any other grants granted herein or which may be granted in any other agreement entered into between Sponsor and/or Administrator, on the one hand, and any entrant in the Challenge, on the other hand, each entrant hereby irrevocably (a) grants to Sponsor and Administrator the right to use such entrant's name, likeness, image, and biographical information in any and all media for any purpose, including, without limitation, advertising and promotional purposes relating to the Challenge and (b) releases Sponsor and Administrator from any liability with respect thereto.

U.S. GOVERNMENT SUPPORT, RIGHTS, AND WAIVER: Sponsor and Administrator are administering the Challenge with the support of the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services pursuant to the American COMPETES Reauthorization Act (the "Act"). Subsection (j) of section 24 of the Act establishes that the Government is prohibited from acquiring an interest in intellectual property developed by a participant in a prize competition, such as the Challenge, without the written consent of the participant. Registered participants shall be required to agree to assume any and all risks and waive claims against the Federal Government and its related entities, except in the case of willful misconduct, for any injury, death, damage, or loss of property, revenue, or profits, whether direct, indirect, or consequential, arising from their participation in a competition, whether the injury, death, damage, or loss arises through negligence or otherwise. Participants shall be required to obtain liability insurance or demonstrate financial responsibility, in amounts determined by the head of the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, for claims by (a) a third party for death, bodily injury, or property damage, or loss resulting from an activity carried out in connection with participation in a competition, with the Federal Government named as an additional insured under the registered participant's insurance policy and registered participants agreeing to indemnify the Federal Government against third party claims for damages arising from or related to competition activities; and (b) the Federal Government for damage or loss to Government property resulting from such an activity.

WINNER SELECTION/EVALUATION CRITERIA: The ONC review panel will make selections based upon the following criteria:

The submission is an innovative information management tool or application deployable on any personal computing platform widely available to consumers;

The tool or application addresses the needs of cancer survivors managing their transition from specialty to primary care;

The evaluation criteria are to be applied in the sole discretion of Sponsor and the individual advisors. By participating in the Challenge, each entrant into the Challenge acknowledges and agrees that such evaluations may differ from person to person and agrees to be bound by and not challenge the final decisions of Sponsor and the individual advisors.

NOTICE TO WINNERS: Attempts to notify potential winners will be made using the contact information provided on the winner's Official Entry Form. Sponsor and Administrator are not responsible for e-mail or other communication problems of any kind. If, despite reasonable efforts, a potential winner does not respond within five (5) days of the first notification attempt (or a shorter time as exigencies may require), or if the prize or prize notification is returned as unclaimed or undeliverable to such potential winner, such potential winner will forfeit his or her prize and an alternate winner may be selected. If any potential prize winner is found to be ineligible, or if he or she has not complied with these Official Rules or declines the applicable prize for any reason prior to award, such potential prize winner will be disqualified and an alternate winner may be selected. Sponsor may successively attempt to contact up to two (2) potential prize winners in accordance with such procedure, and if there is still no confirmed prize winner after such attempts have been made, if any, the applicable prize may go unawarded.

ANTICIPATED NUMBER OF ENTRANTS: Many will enter, three winning submissions will be selected. Actual odds of winning depend on the number of eligible entries received. Sponsor and Administrator cannot accurately predict the number of entrants who will participate in the Challenge.

PRIZES: The winning teams will receive: 1.) First Place - $25,000 and 2.)Up to 3 Finalists - $5,000 each

GENERAL PRIZE CONDITIONS: The potential winner may be required to execute an Affidavit of Eligibility, a Liability Release and (where imposing such condition is legal) a Publicity Release (collectively "Prize Claim Documents). If a winner fails or refuses to sign and return all Prize Claim Documents within five (5) days of Sponsor's and/or Administrator's request (or a shorter time as exigencies may require), the winner may be disqualified and an alternate winner may be selected. No more than the advertised number of prizes will be awarded. Prizes will be delivered only to an address in the U.S. No cash alternative or substitution or transfer of prizes will be allowed, except Sponsor reserves the right in its sole discretion to substitute prizes of comparable value, in whole or in part, for any reason. THE WINNER IS RESPONSIBLE FOR REPORTING AND PAYING ANY INCOME TAXES OR OTHER TAXES THAT MAY APPLY TO ACCEPTING A PRIZE; SPONSOR AND ADMINISTRATOR ARE NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR AND WILL NOT PAY ANY SUCH TAXES.

DATES/DEADLINES: Because of the unique nature and scope of the Challenge, Sponsor and Administrator reserve the right, in addition to those other rights reserved herein, to modify any dates or deadlines set forth in these Official Rules or otherwise governing the Challenge.

GENERAL LIABILITY RELEASE/FORCE MAJEURE: Each entrant agrees that Sponsor and Administrator (a) shall not be responsible or liable for any losses, damages, or injuries of any kind (including death) resulting from participation in the Challenge or any Challenge-related activity, or from entrants' acceptance, receipt, possession, use, or misuse of any prize, and (b) have not made any warranty, representation, or guarantee, express or implied, in fact or in law, with respect to any prize, including, without limitation, regarding such prize's merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. Entrants will indemnify, defend, and hold harmless Sponsor and Administrator from and against all third party claims, actions, or proceedings of any kind and from any and all damages, liabilities, costs, and expenses relating to or arising from entrant's participation in the Challenge. Sponsor and Administrator assumes no responsibility for any damage to an entrant's computer system which is occasioned by accessing the Website or other Challenge-related websites or participating in the Challenge, or for any computer system, phone line, hardware, software, or program malfunctions, or other errors, failures, delayed computer transmissions, or network connections that are human or technical in nature. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, Sponsor and Administrator are not responsible for incomplete, illegible, misdirected, misprinted, late, lost, postage-due, damaged, or stolen entries or prize notifications; or for lost, interrupted, inaccessible, or unavailable networks, servers, satellites, Internet Service Providers, websites, or other connections; or for miscommunications, failed, jumbled, scrambled, delayed, or misdirected computer, telephone, cable transmissions or other communications; or for any technical malfunctions, failures, difficulties, or other errors of any kind or nature; or for the incorrect or inaccurate capture of information, or the failure to capture any information. Sponsor and Administrator each reserve the right in their sole discretion to disqualify any individual who is found to be tampering with the entry process or the operation of the Challenge or Website or other Challenge-related websites, to be acting in violation of these Official Rules, or to be acting in an unsportsmanlike or disruptive manner, or with the intent to disrupt or undermine the legitimate operation of the Challenge, or to annoy, abuse, threaten, or harass any other person, and Sponsor and Administrator each reserve the right to seek damages and other remedies from any such person to the fullest extent permitted by law. In the event an insufficient number of eligible entries are received or Sponsor and/or Administrator is prevented from awarding the prize or continuing with the Challenge as contemplated herein by any event beyond its control, including, without limitation, fire, flood, natural or man-made epidemic, earthquake, explosion, labor dispute or strike, act of God or public enemy, satellite or equipment failure, riot or civil disturbance, terrorist threat or activity, war (declared or undeclared) or any federal state or local government law, order, or regulation, public health crisis, order of any court or jurisdiction, or other cause not reasonably within Sponsor's control ("Force Majeure"), Sponsor and/or Administrator shall have the right to modify, suspend, or terminate the Challenge. If the Challenge is terminated for Force Majeure before expiration of the Challenge Period, Sponsor and/or Administrator will (if reasonably possible) select a winner from all eligible, non-suspect entries received as of the date of the event giving rise to the termination. These Official Rules cannot be modified or amended in any way except in a written document issued in accordance with the law by a duly authorized representative of both Sponsor and Administrator. The invalidity or unenforceability of any provision of these Official Rules shall not affect the validity or enforceability of any other provision. In the event that any provision is determined to be invalid or otherwise unenforceable or illegal, these Official Rules shall otherwise remain in effect and shall be construed in accordance with their terms as if the invalid or illegal provision were not contained herein.

GOVERNING LAW/JURISDICTION: All issues and questions concerning the construction, validity, interpretation, and enforceability of these Official Rules or the rights and obligations of entrants, Sponsor and/or Administrator in connection with the Challenge shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of California as applied in the California state courts in San Francisco if a complaint is filed by any party against the Administrator, and by U.S. Federal law as applied in the Federal courts of the District of Columbia if a complaint is filed by any party against the Sponsor

WINNERS LIST/OFFICIAL RULES: To obtain any legally-required winners list (after the conclusion of the Challenge) or a copy of these Official Rules, send a self-addressed envelope with the proper postage affixed to: Health 2.0, LLC, Attn: Health 2.0 Developer Challenges, 650 Delancey Street #221, San Francisco, CA 94107. Please specify "winners list" or "Official Rules" and the name of the specific Challenge in your request.

Additional Information: General Conditions: ONC reserves the right to cancel, suspend, and/or modify the Contest, or any part of it, for any reason, at ONC's sole discretion. Participation in this Contest constitutes a contestant's full and unconditional agreement to abide by the Contest's Official Rules found at www.challenge.gov.